Boehner praises doctor who saved Herrera Beutler’s baby

A choked-up House Speaker John Boehner has interrupted a series of votes to praise a doctor who helped a congresswoman’s infant survive a rare condition.

In a break from his chamber’s often acrid political divisions, the Ohio Republican prompted two bipartisan standing ovations Wednesday by introducing Washington state Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and her year-old baby, Abigail Rose. The child was born without kidneys.

He then introduced Dr. Jessica Bienstock of Johns Hopkins University, who was in the visitors’ gallery.

While in the womb, the baby was diagnosed with Potter syndrome. That meant she lacked kidneys, which often results in under-developed lungs that can cause a newborn to suffocate.

The baby’s development improved after Bienstock injected saline into the congresswoman’s womb.

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Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.